Forza Horizon 6 takes a fundamentally different approach to progression compared to its predecessors. You arrive in Japan as a tourist with no existing fame, and every system in the game is built to reward how you actually play.
1. How Progression Works
Snow Race
Playground Games has split progression into three distinct tracks: Wristbands for Festival racing, Stamps for open-world discovery, and Horizon Play for competitive multiplayer.
These three systems are designed to complement each other. Wristbands grant access to higher-class Festival events and ultimately lead to the exclusive Legend Island. Stamps fill your Collection Journal and unlock exploration-related rewards. Horizon Play runs parallel to both, with its own leveling track that feeds back into your Wristband progress.
All three systems sit alongside the returning player level and prestige system, which tracks your overall dedication across every activity.
1.1. Which Progression Path Should You Choose?
Choose your main progression path based on what you want to unlock first: campaign access through Wristbands, exploration rewards through Stamps, or multiplayer ranks through Horizon Play.
- Wristbands: Best for those who enjoy structured racing and working toward a clear endgame goal (Legend Island).
- Stamps: Best if you prefer exploring Japan, photography, side activities, and unlocking houses at your own pace.
- Horizon Play: Best for those who mainly play with others. You can still make progress toward Wristbands through the built-in crossover system up to Level 25.
2. Festival Wristbands
Japan Map
The Wristband system is the backbone of the Horizon Festival campaign. Earning a new Wristband is how you rise through the ranks and gain access to more demanding, higher-class events.
There are 7 Festival Wristbands in total, with the Gold Wristband representing the pinnacle of your journey and unlocking Legend Island.
2.1. How to Earn Your First Wristband
Before any Wristband progress begins, you need to prove yourself as a driver. Two new festival characters accompany you through this opening stretch.
Jordy and Mei guide you through the opening stretch before Wristband progression begins. To earn your first Wristband, complete these two events.
- Finish the Horizon Qualifiers to demonstrate your driving ability and secure your Festival entry.
- Complete the Horizon Invitational to earn your first Wristband and officially join the festival.
2.2. Festival Events and Car Themes
City Free Roam
Once you hold your first Wristband, the Horizon Festival opens up a structured set of racing events. Unlike previous entries, many events use specific car themes that require you to race with particular classes or vehicle types.
- Road, Dirt, and Cross Country: races with themed car restrictions
- Time Attack Circuits: for precision driving
- Drag Meets: for straight-line competition
- PR Stunts and Bonus Boards: for open-world challenges
Hypercars are locked out of Festival races until you obtain at least the Purple Wristband. After completing a race for the first time, the Race Customizer unlocks for that specific event.
2.3. Wristband Events
Once you accumulate enough Festival progress, a Wristband Event becomes available. Completing it is the only way to receive your next Wristband. These events come in two forms:
- Showcase Events: spectacular set-piece races, including one featuring Chaser Zero.
- Horizon Rush: brand-new timed obstacle courses across locations such as the Tokyo City Docks and the Sotoyama Ski Resort.
2.4. Legend Island and the Gold Wristband
Collecting all 7 Wristbands earns you the title of Horizon Legend and unlocks access to Legend Island, an exclusive region of the map. Legend Island includes the Legend Island Circuit, The Colossus (the longest Goliath in the series), and unique events built for R-class vehicles.
3. Stamps and the Collection Journal
Peugeot 207 Super 2000
Where Wristbands reward structured racing, Stamps reward curiosity. The Stamp system is tied entirely to the Discover Japan side of the game.
There are 7 Stamps to collect in total, inspired by Japan’s tradition of recording journeys through stamp books.
3.1. How to Earn Stamps
Stamps are earned by accumulating progress across a wide range of discovery activities. Activities that earn Stamp progress include:
- Collecting and customizing cars
- Photographing murals across Japan
- Smashing mascots hidden throughout the open world
- Completing Touge Races and night-time Street Races
- Joining Mei on day tours
- Earning income through the Raku-Raku food delivery job
2002 Nissan Silvia Spec-R
3.2. Collection Journal Rewards
Earning Stamps through the Collection Journal unlocks the following:
- Player Houses: customizable garages positioned around Japan
- Barn Find Rumors
- The Estate: a mountain valley property unlocked after your first Stamp
- Bonus rewards: cars, credits, and cosmetic items
Unlike the Wristband system, completing all Stamps does not lead to a single major prestige title or an exclusive endgame area. Instead, it provides ongoing practical rewards through houses, exploration content, and achievements.
4. Horizon Play
Horizon Play
The Horizon Play is the game’s dedicated multiplayer progression suite. It runs on a separate leveling track, but levels earned up to Level 25 also grant Horizon Festival Points toward your next Wristband.
4.1. Horizon Play Game Modes
Horizon Play covers a wide range of competitive formats, from open-world battle royale to precision drift matchmaking. Available modes include:
- The Eliminator: open-world battle royale where the last driver standing wins
- Hide and Seek: a chase-based mode where the Hider must evade pursuing opponents
- Touge Showdown: two-player head-to-head championships played across three races
- Spec Racing: a new mode where every player races identical stock cars, making pure driving skill the sole differentiator
- Horizon Racing: standard free-for-all competitive racing
- Horizon Drift: free-for-all competitive drifting
- Custom Racing: lets you set a specific car class and race type for matchmaking
- Custom Drifting: lets you choose the car class and drive type
Beyond competitive modes, the open world supports cooperative LINK Skills, shared Horizon Festival and Discover Japan events, Shared World Meetups, and CoLab, which allows groups to build and run custom races together.
Time Attack race
4.2. Leveling, Badges, and Leaderboards
Horizon Play has its own leveling structure up to Level 100. You earn a new Badge for every 10 ranks. Series Standing Leaderboards reset at the start of each new Festival Playlist Series.
Each Horizon Play level earned up to Level 25 grants Horizon Festival Points toward your next Wristband. This allows multiplayer-focused players to still make progress in the main campaign.
5. Wheelspins and the Player Level System
2020 Nissan GT-R NISMO (R35)
The player level and prestige system returns as the overarching measure of total time invested across all activities.
Wheelspins and Super Wheelspins return, but they are no longer something to rely on early or often:
- Wheelspins are locked until you complete the Horizon Qualifiers and Invitational
- Both types are rarer than in previous games.
- Rewards are more valuable when earned.
- Super Wheelspins are significantly scarcer to protect Wristband-based progression.
